The inspiring smell of pine helped to heighten Nadine’s sense of adventure. The scent reminded her of the woods that bordered Grandma Rose’s house, where she had embarked on countless flights of fancy as a child. She had always dreamed of traveling to far-off places. Books had been the medium that transported her there, and she loved the pictures and paintings of ancient cultures the most. In the Mississippi woods she had created her own imaginary world, using nature as her inspiration. Nadine felt content. She followed the path that opened onto a grass-tufted hill sprinkled with rocks and pebbles. In the distance she could see various shades of green. Seeing Nadine’s delighted expression, Catherine felt compelled to praise her homeland. “Those are the sugarcane fields. Barbados is known all over the world for its rum and its sugar. The ones you are looking at belong to the Sharpes. They own the largest sugarcane fields on Eros. Some of their fields are hundreds of years old. But it has not been all good for them, the Sharpes I mean.”
